The Original Zombie

Jeff “Beachbum” Berry has spent years uncovering the recipes for original tiki drinks from the ’30s and ’40s. The Zombie is a Don the Beachcomber signature cocktail that has been poorly reinterpreted over the years, most often as a bad drink resembling a tropical Long Island iced tea. This recipe dates to about 1934. Berry found it in the 1937 notebook of Beachcomber waiter Dick Santiago, who had marked the recipe “old.”

Falernum is a clove- and lime-infused liqueur and can be purchased at most liquor stores; a popular brand is John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum. If you can’t find falernum, try making your own. We think this recipe is a great stand-in.

The Original Zombie recipe was featured as part of our Tiki Cocktails photo gallery.

Ingredients

3/4 cup crushed ice

1 1/2 ounces aged Jamaican rum, such as Appleton Estate V/X or Extra

1 1/2 ouncesgold Puerto Rican rum

1 ounce151-proof Lemon Hart Demerara rum

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoonswhite grapefruit juice

1 teaspoonCinnamon Syrup (see What to Buy note)

1 teaspoonGrenadine (see What to Buy note)

1/2 ouncefalernum

1/8 teaspoonPernod

1 dasharomatic bitters, such as angostura

Ice cubes

1 mint sprig, for garnish

Instructions

1Place all ingredients except ice cubes and mint sprig in a blender. Blend on high until frothy but not slushy, no more than 5 seconds.

2Pour into a tall, narrow glass and add ice cubes to fill the glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.